35 Ways To DECLUTTER Your Home That Actually Work

Do you find yourself surrounded by unnecessary clutter that is taking up valuable space and time in your effort to keep it under control? Not to worry – I have been there too and here are my tips to declutter your home that will actually work.

35 WAYS TO DECLUTTER YOUR HOME THAT ACTUALLY WORK

1. Write a list of areas that need decluttering. Cross them off once they are done.

2. At least every 3 to 6 months, throw out anything out of date from you pantry, medicine chest, cosmetics etc.

3. Get the whole family involved. More hands make for a quicker job & reward everyone with a plan of something fun once you’re all finished.

4. Set chores for the whole family. Even toddlers can start to learn the benefits of simple tasks such as picking up toys each day.

5. Have a home control station where you keep unpaid bills, keys & urgent items. This minimises losing important things in your mess.

19. Each night before bed put 5 things away where they are meant to go. It minimises cleaning time later.

20. Create routines and helpful habits, such as putting away laundry the same day it is done or throwing out the recycling once per day.

21. Instead of buying new DVDs, CDs etc, consider electronic versions such as iTunes or hire them if you’re unlikely to rewatch frequently.

22. Birthday or Christmas coming up. If you are replacing certain items such as toys, clothes etc for loved ones, consider getting rid of existing ones to make room.

23. Under bed storage is under-utilised. Vacuum seal bags, under bed containers. Use these spaces to store things such as winter clothes, photographs (providing it is dry and sealed), shoes, seasonal decorations.

25. Photo albums are great but take up a lot of space. Think before you print and consider digital photo books as a space saving alternative.

27. Soft toys are massive space wasters and most kids outgrow them quickly. Keep a few favourites and give away the rest.

28. Keep things of the same type all in one place. Avoid not being able to find a pen because there are 100 in the house but scattered everywhere for example. Saves you time when everything has it’s place.

29. Set small goals to achieve by a certain deadline. Small = less daunting.

30. Avoid keeping things just because. Items such as fabric and paper scraps that you will never use… that camera case that doesn’t fit your current camera but might fit one in the future. Nah… it’s taking up space.

31. Create a file system of your important documents and go through them regularly to get rid of anything you’ve kept for the minimum required time.

32. Have bills and statements sent electronically if possible. It reduces paper waste and you can still access them when you want to.

33. Store small suitcases inside larger ones if you can. Or smaller bags inside suitcases. These things take up so much room.

34. Have a garage sale, join eBay, or some online selling groups. Your unwanted stuff could earn you a nice little nest egg.

35. Don’t forget to clean out your emails on a regular basis and other electronic files. Even these can get cluttered and waste your valuable time.

However if you find that even these tips are not getting you motivated to declutter your home, you could always join in the Simplify My Life challenge and grab yourself some super useful free printable checklists to declutter your house room by room.

I pray that one day I could actually declutter my garage and my kid’s rooms! The problem is my kids (aged 21,24 & 27) live on their own (small apartment) and still don’t want we to get rid of their video games, wooden doll cradle, doll sets, books or train sets, etc. They have an attachment to these items and whenever I whisper the words sell or donate, its like being on trial. Thanks to A-1 moving and Storage and their professional storage services, I was able to keep their childhood alive and claim my home back.Check out their website at http://www.a1moving.com/storage.cfm

Declutttering is a major issue in my family. Especially where it comes to the point that at the end of the day you are just the step-mum. I tried having my step-kids get rid of stuff and I’m known as the bad guy. They have a bunch of stuff that just lies around the place and no one seems to be using them and I’m like “hey guys, would you like to donate this to an orphanage, kids there would really appreciate it” and the reply is “No!My mom gave me that, I can’t give it away” yea my bad. So we came to an agreement to have these stuff boxed and place in a storage. Thanks to A-1 Moving & Storage, the job was done and I can finally call my house a home. Check out their website at http://www.a1moving.com/storage.cfm

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